Side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers



P 9, 9 J. J. CUNNINGHAM ET AL 3,466,023

SIDE QUENCH MECHANISM I O R INDUCTION INTEIiS IFIERS Filed Jan. 16, 19672 Sheets-Sheet 1 SIDE QUE/VCH FLU/D [NVEN'TORS (JAMES u. CUN/V/NGHAM,

WEBSTER F HALL BY ALLEN d MYERS ATTORNEYS Sept. 9, 1969 J, CUNMNGHAM ETAL 3,466,023

SIDE QUENCH MECHANISM FOR INDUCTION INTENSIFIERS Filed Jan. 16, '19s? 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENI'ORS dAMES d. CUNNINGHAM,

WEBSTER HALL BY ALLEN d. MYERS United States Patent 3,466,023 SIDEQUENCH MECHANISM FOR INDUCTION INTENSIFIERS James J. Cunningham andWebster F. Hall, Richmond, and Allen J. Myers, Fountain City, Ind.,assignors to National Automatic Tool Co., Inc., a corporation of IndianaFiled Jan. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 609,388 Int. Cl. C21d 1/66, 9/32 US. Cl.266-4 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Quenching means for aninduction intensifier which hardens gear teeth or the like intooth-by-tooth fashion, such means being operable to concentrate quenchliquid on specific areas of the gear teeth in order to improve thehardness pattern thereof.

One object of the invention is to provide quench mechanism carried by aninduction intensifier so that each in tensifier includes its own sidequench mechanism so that when intensifiers are changed the side quenchnozzles do not have to be adjusted for each new tooth hardening job.

Another object is to provide quench nozzles in the form of tubes locatedat the sides of an induction intensifier and extending longitudinally ofthe gear teeth, each tube having a row of perforations from which jetsof quench liquid issue and are directed against the adjacent areas ofgear teeth to prevent previously hardened portions thereof from beingpartially annealed by a subsequent hardening operation.

Still another object is to provide a means for mounting the quenchnozzles directly on the intensifier itself so as to become an integralunit therewith, the character of the mounting being such as to permitadjustment of the nozzles in all three planes to thus provide allpossible and any desirable character of quench action on the gear teethbeing hardened.

Still a further object is to provide quench mechanism in the form of apair of tubes, one for each side of the induction intensifier and eachprovided with a row of jet discharge openings distributed lengthwise ofthe gear teeth, mounting means for the tubes being provided so that theymay be adjusted toward or away from the gear teeth or from side-to-sidewith respect to the gear teeth, and the tubes may be rotated fordirecting the jets issuing through the jet orifices thereof in thedesired direction.

With these and other objects in view, our invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of ourside quench mechanism for induction intensifiers, whereby the objectsa'bove contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth,pointed out in our claims and illustrated in detail on the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an induction intensifier with one of ourside quench units mounted on each side thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lower end of the intensifierillustrating it passing through the trough between two adjacent gearteeth;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and shows most ofthe intensifier in elevation;

FIGS. 5 to 9 inclusive are diagrammatic views of adjacent gear teeth, aninduction intensifier and our side quench jets, illustrating in FIGS. 5,6 and 8 teeth hardening without quench jets and in FIGS. 7 and 9 toothhardening with quench jets; and

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing a modification.

In COLD-HEAT hardening of gear teeth by the toothby-tooth method, thehardening process is actually carried out beneath the surface of aquench liquid which serves to keep the gear at a uniformly coldtemperature at all times except for that portion which is being hardenedby the passage of an energized induction intensifier through the troughbetween two gear teeth. Such passage heats the adjacent tooth flanksprogressively and thus only a minimum portion of a tooth is at thehardening temperature at any given instant. The intensifier scans fromone gear face to the other and thus progressively hardens both toothflanks and the root between two adjacent flanks to provide a continuityof hardness pattern at the root which is the portion of a tooth thatusually fails from repeated or excessive loading.

At the outer ends of the teeth the hardness patterns may overlap,especially if these outer ends are very narrow, and even when they donot overlap, a hardness pattern secured by a previous passage of anintensifier may become partially annealed during a subsequent passage onthe other side of the tooth. This is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. Anintensifier is shown generally at A and there are two gear teethnumbered 1 and 2, the intensifier being located between them andproducing a hardness pattern 10 along the right side flank of the toothNo. 1 and 12 along the left side flank of the tooth No. 2 as well as ahardness pattern at 14 in the bottom of the trough or at the root of theteeth.

In tooth-by-tooth hardening the intensifier A is passed longitudinallyalong the tooth trough and is shaped to clear the adjacent gear toothside flanks with a spacing in the neighborhood of .015" as illustratedat a in FIGS. 5 and 6. At the tips of the teeth the spacing may beincreased (b) depending on the hardness pattern desired.

After the intensifier has passed between the teeth 1 and 2, the gear isrotated counter-clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 6 so that thenext passage of the intensifier is between the teeth 2 and 3. We nowhave a hardness pattern 10a, 12a, 14a for the teeth 2 and 3, but inspite of the entire operation being performed under quench liquid thetrailing outer end of the hardness pattern 12 becomes annealed asindicated by stippling at 16 thus destroying part of the harness patternpreviously accomplished.

Referring to FIG. 7 this annealing result shown at 16 in FIG. 6 may beeliminated by providing jets of quench liquid indicated by the arrows 18forced from jet orifices 20 of quench tubes 22 so that the hardnesspattern 12 it will be noted remains as accomplished in FIG. 5. Thehardness pattern is thus controlled by the jets 18 issuing from the sidequench tubes 22 which obviously may be located in reference to theintensifier A so as to always deliver the jets 18 at desirable points onthe outer ends of the gear teeth, usually and preferably halfway betweenthe side flanks thereof. Hereinafter we will describe how the sidequench tubes 22 are mounted on the intensifier A in such manner as to befully adjustable to the desired positions in reference to the gear teethto be hardened by the intensifier.

Assuming the gear illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 9 as having 24 teeth, itwill be noted in FIG. 8 that the 24th1st gear tooth trough is now inposition for hardening the adjacent side flanks of the gear teeth 1 and24. Without our side quench mechanism it will be noted the trailing endof the hardness pattern 121; on the tooth 24 has been annealed as at 16awhile the leading edge of the hardness pattern 10 on the tooth 1 hasbeen annealed as at 16b. Thus the trailing ends of the hardness patternson the left-hand flanks of all the teeth 2 through 24 are annealed Whilethe leading edge of the hardness pattern on the right-hand flank of thetooth 1 is also annealed, but the right-hand flank of No. 24 and theleft-hand flank of' No. 1 are neither one annealed. This results in anunevenness of annealing in addition to the objection of annealing.

When our side quench tubes 22 are used as in FIG. 9 the outer ends ofboth teeth 1 and 24 are not annealed, and the same is true of all teethof the gear.

The volume of quench liquid supplied to the side quench tubes 22'determines the degree of cooling and consequently thedegree ofelimination of annealing. In other words, if the volume is insufficientsome annealing may occur'whereas a certain rate of quench liquid flow issufficient toeliminate all annealing. Accordingly, for a givenfgeartooth size and/ or shape a flow meter record can be kept and duplicatedwhen gear teeth of the same size and/or shape are to be hardened by theparticular intensifier designed for the type of gear teeth encountered.

By mounting the'quefich tubes 22 directly on the intensifier A, oncethey are adjusted in relation thereto, and rela-. tive' to the gearteeth for which that intensifier was designed, no further adjustmentsneed to be made except in the regulatingvalve for the flow meter. Thequench "liquid may be supplied to one end of each tube by a hose videdwith an opening 32 of a size to rotatably and slidably receive the sidequench tube 22. Each bracket 28 is provided with a seat 34 and eachclamp bar 30 is provided with a seat 36 which engage opposite sides ofthe quench tubes and clamp them in position when clamp screws 38 aretightened down.

The brackets 26 and 28 are provided with slotted openings44 throughwhich clamp bolts 40 extend and the clamp bolts also extend through thebody of the intensifier A and are provided with clamp nuts 42 as shownin FIG. 3 whereby the brackets are secured to the intensifier A tobecome part'of an integral unit therewith.

The intensifier A may be of the general type shown in Jones Patents Nos.2,810,054 and 2,857,154 having a pair'of L-shaped sides as shown in FIG.3, one at the left and identified 46 and the one at the right identified48. Each has a terminal 50 connected to the high frequency generator.The sides 46 and 48 serve as conductors and are insulated from eachother by a conductor 52 so that the lower end of the intensifierprovides a closed loop for :the HP or RF current used to energize theintens'ifierJA s'tac'kof' laminations 54 is shaped for the particularsize and pitch of the gear teeth for which the intensifier isspecifically designed. Quench liquid supply tubes 58 "are provided,one'ofwhich may serve as an inlet and t he other as an outlet, theliquid passing down one"leg 46"a'nd up the other leg 48 and being sodirected with respect to 'the laminations 54 as to cool them in thematinerdisclosed in' the Jones patent. v

near is generatedin the induction-heating process by current'lpassingthrough the conductor'loop 46, 52, 48 which produces byfa rapidlychanging magnetic field an induced I-IFlor' RF current within the gearteeth adjac'e'nt '"the" lamination. The resistance to flow of thisinduced"current creates heat-in the gear teeth proximate to theintensifier. The eddy-current effect of the magnetic field causes thisheat by magnetic hysteresis. By using the COLD-HEAT process andtooth-by-tooth heating, distortion-in thework' is'much less than inoverall heating, and tooth strength is much greater. However, in certaing' teeth and" particularly those having narrow outer ends, the annealinge lfects illustrated in FIGS. 6and 8 are sometimesencountered and wehave found that this troubilejcanme entirely eliminated by the use ofside qiiench' mechanism of the type herein disclosed.

' The slots 44. Permit adjustment ofthe side quench tubes 22 toward andaway from the ends of the gear teeth and also permit the brackets to beswung inwardly or outwardly to accommodate the spacing between adjacentgear teeth. A third adjustment is provided in that the clamp bars may beloosened and the side quench tubes 22 rotated for directing the jetorifices 20 in the proper direction. After the adjustments are made andthe clamp screws 38 as well as the clamp bolts and their clamp nuts 42tightened, the intensifier and the side quench mechanism mountedthereonbecome an integral unit. Thus when the intensifier is removedfrom the hardening machine and laid aside its side quench mechanismremains with it until such time as another gear for which theintensifier is designed is to be hardened, and when the intensifier isagain mounted on the machine, the side quench mechanism is already inadjusted position so that the only further adjustment required is theflow rate of the quench liquid to the side quench tubes 22. The hoses 60can be readily disconnected from the intensifier and its side quenchmechanism when it is removed from the induction hardening machineandassociafed with the side quench tubes of the next intensifier andside quench mechanism to be used in the machine.

The clamp bolts 40 and the clamp nuts 42 are insulated in respect to thebrackets 26 and 28 and the intensifier A so as to avoid short circuitsby means of insulation tubes 43 and insulation washers 45. The jetorifices 20 are arranged along each quench tube 22 preferably in astraight row, the length of which is greater than faceto-face dimensionD of the intensifier A as shown in FIG. 3. Thus quench fluid isdischarged against the gear tooth in the area at any time being heatedand somewhat ahead of and behind that area. The jet orifice pattern maybe varied however, and tailored for work which presents specifichardening pattern problems.

While we have illustrated the perforations 20 as drilled holes, they maybe slotted longitudinally of the tube 22, or may be in the form of asingle slot.

In addition to COLD-HEAT induction hardening herein before described,some hardening can be done without submerging the work and the inductioninternsifier in quenching liquid. The use of our side quench mechanismis even more important for this type of hardening to avoid annealingsuch as shown at 16 in FIG. 6, and 16a and 16b in FIG. 8, as the degreeof annealing is not reduced by submersion in quench liquid. In FIG. 9 weshow flanges '62 secured to the quench tubes 22. in position to reducethe etfect of the flow from the perforations 20 on the hardness patternbeing produced by the intensifier A.

While we have described our side quench mechanism indetail with respectto an intensifier which passes through the trough between two adjacentgear teeth, it may also be applied to a design of intensifier such asshown at A. in FIG. 10 having a pair of fingers 64 straddling the tooth66 so as to produce a hardness pattern that does not extend to the rootof the gear tooth. One example is the hardening of the teeth of a wormwhich meshes with a worm gear for driving machinery and the like.

FIG. 10 is comparable to FIG. 4 except the parts are somewhat differentin design but comparable parts bear the same reference numeral with theaddition of a.v A hardness pattern 68 is being produced, and isprevented by the jets 18a from extending down to the rootas it mightotherwisedo as indicated at 68a.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of our side quench mechanism without. departing from the realspiritand purpose of our invention, and it is our intention to cover byour claims any modified;.forms of structure or use ofmechanicalequivalents which may reasonably be included within their We claim asour invention:

1. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers of the typedefined for tooth-by-tooth hardening of gears and the like wherein theintensifier scans a flank of a gear tooth; bracket means mounted on andcarried by said intensifier, said bracket means comprising a bracket andmeans for clamping said bracket to a face of the intensifier comprisinga clamp bolt, a side quench tube supported by said bracket means andextending along a side of said intensifier, said bracket having aslotted opening for said clamp bolt to permit adjustment of said sidequench tube toward and away from the gear tooth, and being swingable onsaid clamp bolt for adjustment toward and away from the side of saidintensifier and said side quench tube having jet orifice means directedtoward the portion of the gear tooth adjacent the end of the hardeningpattern when said intensifier is in operative position relative thereto.

2. In side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers of the typedesigned for tooth-by-tooth hardening of gears and the like wherein theintensifier is designed to pass through a trough between two gear teeth;bracket means mounted on and carried by said intensifier, side quenchtubes supported by said bracket means and extending along opposite sidesof said intensifier, said bracket means comprising a pair of bracketsfor each side quench tube, means for clamping each bracket of said pairof brackets to opposite faces of said intensifier comprising clampbolts, said brackets having slotted openings for said clamp bolts topermit adjustment of said side quench tubes toward and away from theends of the gear teeth, and beingswingable on the clamp bolts foradjustment toward and away from the sides of the intensifier, said sidequench tubes each having jet orifice means spaced therealong anddirected toward the ends of a pair of adjacent gear teeth when saidintensifier is in operative position in the trough between said pair ofgear teeth.

3. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according to claim1 wherein said bracket means includes clamp means for said side quenchtube to hold it in any position of rotational adjustment relative tosaid bracket means.

4. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according to claim1 wherein said bracket means includes a first bracket in which saidquench tube is rotatably and slidably mounted, a second bracket having aseat for one side of said quench tube, a clamp bar having a seat for theother side of said quench tube, and a clamp screw for clamping saidclamp bar to said second bracket.

5. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according to claim1 wherein a pair of said side quench tubes is provided and said bracketmeans comprises a pair of brackets for each side quench tube, means forclamping each bracket of said pair of brackets to opposite faces of saidintensifier comprising clamp bolts, said brackets having slottedopenings for said clamp bolts to permit adjustment of said side quenchtubes toward and away from adjacent gear teeth, and being swingable onthe clamp bolts for adjustment toward and away from the sides of saidintensifier.

6. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according to claim5 wherein said bracket means includes clamp means for said side quenchtubes to hold them in any position of rotational adjustment relative tosaid bracket means.

7. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according to claim5 wherein at least one bracket of said pair of brackets has clamp meansfor its side quench tube to hold it in any position of rotationaladjustment relative to said bracket means.

8. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according to claim5 wherein said bracket means includes for each of said quench tubes afirst bracket in which the quench tube is rotatably and slidablymounted, a second bracket having a seat for the other side of the quenchtube, a clamp bar having a seat for the other side of the quench tube,and a clamp screw for clamping said clamp bar to said second bracket.

9. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according to claim2 wherein said bracket means includes clamp means for said side quenchtubes to hold them in any position of rotational adjustment relative tosaid bracket means.

10. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according toclaim 1 wherein at least one bracket of said pair of brackets has clampmeans for its side quench tube to hold it in any position of rotationaladjustment relative to said bracket means.

11. A side quench mechanism for induction intensifiers according toclaim 1 wherein a flange is carried by said side quench tube andpositioned between said jet orifice means and intensifier.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,157,948 5/1939 Beeny 148-1492,338,496 1/ 1944 Denneen et al. 2,958,524 11/1960 Delapena et al.

J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner J. S. BROWN, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R.

